Camelia the canterin' camel

This is a toy I made from Elm 7 years ago for my youngest grandson from the plans in an article in the Woodworkers Journal Dec. 2000. The toy was designed by John Hutchison, an architect from Ohio. The humps, head, tail and legs all move up and down when the toy is pushed. It has been in for repairs several times. Perhaps you can see where I have re-glued the neck twice, the tail once and some work on the feet. Some of these problems might have been avoided with better grain orientation, although I did follow the authors suggested orientation. Originally there were rubber “o” rings stretched over the grooves in the wheels to give it sufficient traction. The last picture shows the back wheels with a cam attached to the wheel axle which drives a dowel that in turn drives the whole thing. I guess my grandson has fond memories of playing with it because he still keeps it on display in his bedroom. If you want to make it, you might be still be able to get the plan from WWJ magazine.

Thanks for the compliments, but the real credit should go to the designer John Hutchins who wrote a fine article with very good plans and easy to follow instructions. The thing practically made itself.